Campgrounds and RV parks near Montclair, NJ

Montclair sits in Essex County about 12 miles west of Manhattan, which shapes the camping options nearby. There are no campgrounds inside Montclair itself. RV renters typically head east to the Hudson waterfront for urban camping with skyline access, or west and north into the New Jersey Highlands and lower Hudson Valley for wooded state parks. The closest full-hookup option is Liberty Harbor RV Park in Jersey City, a fenced marina lot with water and electric sites, showers, laundry, and a dump station, within sight of the Statue of Liberty. For a rustic tent trip, Camp Wyanokie in West Milford offers primitive sites on 150 acres bordering Norvin Green State Forest. Camp Wyanokie does not accept RVs. Farther out, Beaver Pond Campground in Harriman State Park (New York) and Wawayanda State Park in the NJ Highlands both accommodate smaller trailers and RVs seasonally. Floyd Bennett Field, part of Gateway National Recreation Area in Brooklyn, offers tent and RV sites within the city limits when the campground is operating.

Reservation systems vary by campground. Liberty Harbor RV Park takes bookings directly through its own website and by phone, and it is one of the few RV-accessible options in the immediate metro area, so advance reservations are recommended, especially during peak tourist seasons. New Jersey state parks, including Wawayanda, use the state's online reservation portal at camping.nj.gov. Beaver Pond in Harriman books through ReserveAmerica up to nine months in advance, with same-day reservations accepted until 3 p.m. on the day of arrival. Camp Gateway at Floyd Bennett Field books through Recreation.gov when the campground is open. Camp Wyanokie handles reservations through its own website via Campspot. Wyanokie is tent-only and does not accommodate RVs, so RV renters should focus on Liberty Harbor, Floyd Bennett Field, Wawayanda, or Beaver Pond, keeping in mind Beaver Pond's 30-foot length limit and no-hookup, no-pet policy.